“You came?” she said as he slid onto the bleacher seat next to her.
“I promised,” he said simply, lacing her hand in his as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Tanner reached across her and held out his hand. “Hey, man, glad you could make it for Riley’s sake.” Cooper ignored the censure in Tanner’s voice. He shook the cocky quarterback’s hand and faked a friendly grin, giving a command performance that would make his mother proud.
Not bad for a jealous Neanderthal like him.
Forcing his gaze from Izzy, Cooper spotted Riley immediately. Big for his age, Riley stood taller than most of his teammates, except for Brian, his best buddy and the head coach’s son. Riley’s back was to him in his number eighty-five jersey. Cooper recalled that the kid played tight end on offense and defensive end on defense.
Cooper hadn’t actually planned on paying much attention to the game. He’d rather imagine Izzy naked underneath him or in his hot tub. Izzy concentrated on the game instead of him. With resignation and to keep his butt from being kicked by a pissed off woman, Cooper watched, too, and he enjoyed every minute of it—except for those minutes which required he talk to Wolfe.
Riley surprised him, but he shouldn’t have. Those Black genes shone through, and the Black family was a talented bunch when it came to athletics
Toward the end of the 2nd half, Riley intercepted a pass and ran it eighty yards for a touchdown. Izzy leapt to her feet screaming with unabashed enthusiasm as did Tanner. Frowning and not to be outdone by the douche, Cooper stood, too, and clapped loudly.
Riley jogged back to the sidelines and glanced up in their direction, a triumphant smile on his face. For a second their eyes met and something shifted inside Cooper’s chest. Riley looked away first to cock his head at whatever his teammate was saying, acting as if nothing had happened. But it had. Cooper couldn’t deny it. That damn kid had burrowed under his skin, despite Cooper’s best efforts to keep him at arm’s length.
In the last two minutes of the game, Riley caught another pass ten yards from the end zone to set up their fullback to run it in for six. They won the game, and Riley grinned from ear to ear as he jogged with his team into the locker room. Cooper caught himself smiling, too. He’d enjoyed the game, enjoyed Izzy’s hand in his the whole time, and he was damn proud of Riley, even if he hadn’t earned the right.
A group of parents stood near the locker room door waiting for their sons. Cooper stood off to the side, still holding Izzy’s hand, while a group formed around Tanner, who ate it up like the attention slut he was.
One of the mothers broke off from Tanner’s adoring crowd and approached Cooper.
“You must be Riley’s dad. He looks just like you,” she said as she looked pointedly at his ring finger.
“I’m his uncle.” Cooper shifted his stance, tucking Izzy closer to him, while that asshole Tanner, who’d also joined them, let out a snort.
“Wow, really? Strong resemblance. You look like an athlete yourself.”
Tanner snorted again, inserting himself into their conversation. “He is, if you think skating for a living qualifies.”
Izzy squeezed his hand, more as warning to keep his mouth shut than as support.
The woman’s perfectly made-up eyes widened. “Oh, you’re a figure skater?”
Tanner roared with laughter, and Cooper wanted to shove Tanner’s head into his ass. “I’m a hockey player,” he answered through gritted teeth.
One of the other fathers spoke up. “You play for the Sockeyes, don’t you?”
Cooper nodded, and for the next few minutes, his popularity outshone Tanner’s as Cooper fielded questions and signed autographs.
“Your nephew has your ability, all right,” one of the dads noted. “He’s the best player on the team. You must be really proud of him.”
Cooper opened his mouth to make some non-committal statement, but what he did say surprised him. “I’m very proud of him. He’s an amazing kid.”
And he meant it.
Izzy leaned into him, squeezing his hand and rewarding him with a sweet smile, warming him inside and making him wonder why he’d been such an ass and held out so long.
He’d used Riley’s well-being for an excuse, but it wasn’t Riley’s heart he was protecting.
It was his own.
Riley toweled off after his shower, feeling as if his feet couldn’t possibly touch the ground. Today had been one of those rare perfect days in his life that he’d cherish and pull out whenever he needed a boost.
Like he did before every game, Riley had scanned the stands for Izzy and Tanner. They never disappointed him. Only today he’d done a double take. His uncle had sat next to Izzy holding her hand and grinning at her like a lovesick idiot.
For a second, hope swelled in Riley’s heart, a feeble hope for a real family or even a half-assed family. Hell, anything would be better than what he’d had for all of his sorry life.
Yet, when he saw the way Cooper stared at Izzy, as if they were the only two people on earth and nothing else existed but them, the truth stabbed him like a sharp knife in the heart. His uncle came for Izzy ’cuz he wanted to get in her pants.
Regardless, Riley would take what he could get. Maybe Cooper wasn’t there for Riley, but he was there. Riley swore he’d play the game of his life and make Cooper notice him.
Riley was good. His teammates said so, his coach said so. The high school coach told him he’d be starting varsity as a sophomore next year.
If there was a next year.